O’LEARY HOLDS COMMANDING LEAD IN CONSERVATIVE LEADERSHIP CONTEST

TORONTO – In a random sampling of public opinion taken by TheForum Poll among 1,332 Canadian voters, Kevin O’Leary is the preferredcandidate to lead the Conservative Party (27%). Maxime Bernieris in distant second, favoured by (11%), followed by with Lisa Raitt (7%) andMichael Chong (6%). More than a third of Canadians (38%) believe “someone else”would be a better choice to lead the Conservative Party than any of the eightidentified candidates. This is down from (53%) who desired someone else inDecember. For Conservative Party members O’Leary leads all leadership candidates(31%), and he has even more support with those who voted for the Conservativesin 2015 (49%). “Kevin O’Leary’s entry into the Conservative leadership racehas propelled him to the front of the field, with more than double the support of hisnearest rival. Still, more than a third of interested voters don’t support any of thecurrent candidates,” said Forum Research President, Dr Lorne Bozinoff.